Google Home, the web giant's internet-connected talking personal assistant, has started spamming audio adverts to unsuspecting folk today.
Never before have we witnessed a technology giant destroy a product with such precision-engineered idiocy. Don't be evil? Do us a favor.
Promos for Disney's new Beauty and the Beast flick …

Basically, you can't afford to buy back your privacy. Not even a cabin in the woods can save you from aerial and satellite surveillance.

Yeah you can, easily. They haven't yet come up with a way for a satellite to see through trees (just look at forestry in Google Earth - can you see the ground? No? Then trees provide cover, duh!), and if you use the right kind of trees (pretty much most tall evergreens) even IR can have a hard time getting through.

Just look at any location with fairly dense trees, even in urban areas, and you'll see quickly how much difficulty satellites have with seeing through dense wood. I know of several cabins that are completely invisible until sufficient trees are felled around them - most of the small cabins on Mt Egmont for a start, many in the Tararua's and other popular hunting/tramping areas. Larger ones have some land cleared around them or have enough of a ground-footprint that trees don't cover them, smaller ones about the size of a small bedroom can be completely concealed. Ask S&R people about the ability for helicopters to see through trees even when hovering.

"Yeah you can, easily. They haven't yet come up with a way for a satellite to see through trees (just look at forestry in Google Earth - can you see the ground? No?"

No, but just because YOU can't see it doesn't mean someone else CAN see all the way to the ground AND is keeping it a secret. Always assume your adversary is more capable than they're letting on. After all, isn't the data center in Utah really just a cover for a working quantum computer busily cracking all the historic crypto that's being housed there?

Seems like a useful feature

As a first attempt this sounds quite useful. You've asked it what your day is like, it's told you what's in your calendar, what the weather is like and what your commute is like and then it adds in other things that you may be interested in doing today but hadn't otherwise thought of.

It probably needs to be more tailored to the user but if you visit the cinema reguarly (and if you have a default setup Android phone then Google knows everywhere you visit) then this could good.

Re: Seems like a useful feature

Hows my day looking?

And one day the answer is

"Well, I've had look at the NHS data on you, and to be honest, your day is not looking good. By the way, did you know there is a good undertaker in the High Street, would you like me to make you an appointment>"

Dear Google

re Beauty and the Beast

Y'all do realise there's a new live-action flick out there starring some numpty from Downton Abbey and the bint from Harry Plotter, right?

So for those frothing at he mouth about some dodgy French offering from years ago, calm down dear - it's only a commercial! (And it's a little late to be worrying about kids being exposed to the sort of behaviour that would make Grandma blush - it seems you can't open a "news"paper or turn on the TV without some "equality" group pushing their own agenda at the cost of everyone else's rights and there's nothing to stop 'da kidz' seeing every bit of it)

Go surface yourselves

It would almost be worth its purchase price

To be able to - literally - bring down a hammer on its unsolicited ad-vice. I'm sure there's even some enterprising Youtube personality out there who could recoup the purchase cost with the ad revenue from the video.

Really?

Google grooming and evolution

Google started out as the creepy guy in a greasy raincoat following people around and keeping kiddies interested by giving them sweeties. Google has now talked its way in and the guy in a greasy raincoat is sitting in my lounge, stillhanding out sweeties to the kiddies he is grooming.

No surprise here!

LOL, I saw this coming from a mile away. OF COURSE Google is going to spew ads through this.

You basically put a piece of hardware in your house that is dirctly connected to a giant company who makes their money, wait for it, selling ads!

Do you also not think that they're listening to what TV shows you're watching, keywords in coversations, etc? It IS always listening btw - it has to in order to pick up on keywords such has OK Google to activate it.

Single Function Devices. Not for me

If it could be integrated with one of those robot vacuum cleaners, which could also double as a lawn mower and would fetch me beers from the fridge and use its Ham and Cheese Toastie George Foreman attachment, I might consider it a worthwhile additional technological gadget and useful for society.